The massive tankers are the linchpin of Sunoco's Mariner East project, which the Philadelphia refiner announced last year. The aim is to transport a liquid by-product of Marcellus Shale natural gas to industrial customers on the Gulf Coast.
Toomey and Meehan argue that the Sunoco project means jobs - 300 to 400 construction workers to build a terminal in Marcus Hook, and 25 full-time positions once the cargo begins to flow.
"It's kind of hard to argue why you should let a few sailing ships come in for a few weeks of racing and not put an industrial ship to work that will be there in place long after the race is done," said Meehan.
The lawmakers had been working to get legislation to allow Sunoco to reflag the liquefied natural gas vessels.
But then the legislators heard that California lawmakers were hastily preparing the America's Cup Act to allow 60 foreign-flagged vessels to participate in preliminary races scheduled to start Saturday in San Diego. They saw an opportunity to attach the Sunoco proposal to speed up their objective.
"This is, for me, for our region, an important economic opportunity," said Meehan.
The legislation waives the Jones Act, a 1920 law that requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports to be carried in ships that are owned, built and flagged in the United States and crewed by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The law's aim is to protect the U.S. Merchant Marine.
